Bike-Ped Committee April Meeting Minutes

Since the last issue of the Magazine, the SHUC Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee has continued working to enhance the safety and accessibility of Squirrel Hill’s streets for the benefit of all of our residents, visitors, and businesses. Our activities included the following, among others:

Monitor Street-Forward Avenue Sidewalk/Bike-Path – We have taken further steps in pursuit of sidewalk improvements and creation of a pedestrian/bicycle path from Monitor Street to the Forward-Murray-Pocusset (F-M-P) intersection, through the Solevo medical marijuana dispensary and adjacent City-owned properties. The major step comprises a request for funds in the City’s Capital Budget for the required engineering study and initial preparation. We thank Council Member Corey O’Connor and his office, the Solevo Wellness Corporation, and the Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) for their cooperation and support of our efforts.

F-M-P Intersection – Related to the previous item, we have suggested to DOMI direct improvements for this challenging intersection. These include creation of the (now missing) crosswalk across Forward Avenue, as well as enhancement to the signal light and traffic flow. Our ideas are consistent with work SHUC’s Gateway Committee has been doing regarding the Forward Avenue area. DOMI has agreed to include our suggestions in the planning/design work it is conducting there. Timing of these improvements is contingent upon the allocation of funds.

Healthy Ride/Pittsburgh Bike-Share – Adams Carrol, Director of Operations and Planning at Healthy Ride, presented to the Committee H.R.’s expansion plans for 2018-2019, including, we’re pleased to say, its commitment to place shared-bike stations at five key locations in Squirrel Hill: intersections at or near Northumberland-Forbes, Forbes-Wightman, Beacon-Wightman, Beacon-Murray, and on Forbes Avenue between Murray and Shady Avenues. We expect these stations to begin appearing by late summer or early fall. The entire presentation may be found on SHUC’s web-page at www.shuc.org.

Denniston Avenue – With excellent cooperation from Commander Daniel Hermann and the Zone 4 police, Council Member Erika Strassburger and her office, and addressing expressed concerns of neighborhood residents, the Committee has focused attention on the need for improved safety on this heavily trafficked street. Speeding cars present the primary safety challenge. Because the short block-lengths make speed-logging difficult, stop-sign enforcement has been the focus of police activity to-date. Commander Hermann has reported to us that stop-sign enforcement over a recent two-week period showed 26 stops and 13 citations. The majority of the motorists in those stops and citations were residents of the immediate area. Enforcement experience has been similar in other neighborhoods, as well. So, while the traffic laws absolutely apply to all street users, these recent findings suggest that each neighborhood’s residents must be especially cognizant of the safety challenges of their streets and address those challenges through their own actions.